Pastor Greg Laurie is captivated by legendary musician Alice Cooper\u2019s testimony, noting how Cooper\u2019s transformation journey was \u201chands down\u201d the most compelling he encountered while writing his latest book on the intersection of faith and rock \u2018n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n
Laurie, author of \u201cLennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus: The Spiritual Biography of Rock and Roll,\u201d told CBN\u2019s Faithwire, \u201cAlice, at one point, was the No. 1 rock star in all of the world. He started living the rock star life to excess. He was pretty much drunk every day; he was using drugs heavily, his life began to unravel; his wife Sheryl left him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laurie recalled how Cooper one day found himself using cocaine alone in his room at the height of his dysfunction, saying, \u201cHe was snorting it, and he looked in the mirror, and he said, \u2018I saw blood coming out of my eyes. I don\u2019t know if it was a hallucination or if it was really happening, but all I knew was I was going to die.\u2019<\/p>\n
At that moment, Laurie said, Cooper \u201ccalled out to God,\u201d and his entire life changed. \u201cHe got off drugs, he reunited with his wife, and he\u2019s been clean and sober for over 30 years,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cHe gets up every morning, and he reads his Bible. He gave a Bible to [singer] Marilyn Manson.\u201d<\/p>\n
These are the types of stories Laurie tells in \u201cLennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus,\u201d exploring the ups, downs, and spiritual intersections found at the roots of\u00a0rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. As a big pop culture fan, Laurie said he found the topic captivating and worthy of exploration. He spoke of his motivation for writing the book, \u201cI\u2019ve always had an interest in pop culture. Combine this with the fact that I am an evangelist. And an evangelist builds bridges to culture.\u201d<\/p>\n